Message to our elected officials: Go ahead, charge us a fee for our cars and find other alternatives to prevent drastic cuts to the Dane County Budget. We will support you! If you want to sign on to this letter, email me at brendakonkel AT gmail. If you have a group you belong to, ask them to sign on. The list is growing and much longer than listed below, but these are the folks that kicked it all off . . . individuals and organizations needed to show a wide base of support!
Re: An Alternative to Drastic Cuts in Dane County Budget
Date: Tuesday, September 13th
The challenges of the Dane County budget are never easy, but this year in particular you have incredible challenges before you. We trust that you will do your best to balance the needs of the residents of the county and the bottom line of raising taxes. As a coalition of Purchase of Service Agencies, faith communities, environmentalists and union workers we offer these recommendations to push a budget that truly reflects the values of the Dane County.
This year’s challenges are daunting and the needs in the community are larger than ever due to the economy. We know that as the list of cuts to the Human Services budget were announced many were distraught. The grim reality of the cuts to Human Services feels like a budget that Scott Walker or the Fitzgerald brothers would approve of and we know that is not the Dane County Way; these are not your values.
We are proud of our services and commitment to the safety net in Dane County. We worry that as our preventative capacity erodes we will hemorrhage costs elsewhere in our service system. We cannot afford to cut services for crime prevention and jail diversion programs, half of the funding for the warming shelter for homeless families, the free clothing program, a Joining Forces for Families site in a vulnerable neighborhood (Badger Road), Community Support Specialists across all JFF sites, youth centers, or youth employment programs. A $200,000 cut to the Early Childhood Initiative and $100,000 cut to Family Preservation Program will adversely affect mothers and young children who will not be able to access these valuable service. Long waiting lists for mental health case management and substance abuse services results in waits so long that often emergency hospitalizations or the criminal justice systems intervenes before people can get needed services. The slow deterioration of our elderly service focal agencies and the 19.5% in cuts over the past eight years to services for existing consumers with developmental disabilities speak poorly of how we treat our most vulnerable individuals in our community.
Although we know there will be some cuts in the budget, we believe there should also be some increases where demand for assisting those most vulnerable dictates. There are also some cuts to some critical quality of life services that should be restored such as the Rural Erosion Control Specialist and the Storm Water Education Position positions being reduced to half-time. These cuts whittle away at some of the crucial quality of life elements that make Dane County a place where folks want to live.
Increasing some fees to fairly allocate costs to those who use certain services or new services would be a balanced way to address this budget. Here are some of the things we would like you to consider.
First of all, we urge the County Executive and County Board to work with the community to place a referendum on the ballot to allow the voters to affirm their belief in protecting the most vulnerable in our society and reaffirm their commitment to human service programs.
Second, since a referendum would not address the current budget, we believe a small vehicle registration fee of $10 or $20 could raise enough money to minimize some of the more devastating cuts proposed in your budget. This vehicle registration fee would be dedicated to transportation infrastructure and basic highway maintenance freeing up funds to meet critical needs in this incredibly challenging budget.
We understand that many of you are concerned that this is regressive. However, please consider that people who have the means frequently have multiple cars, where poorer families have only one car if any at all. Additionally, you could set aside some funds to provide a waiver for low income vehicle owners. We also suggest you consider a sunset for the fee when Scott Walker’s levy limits are lifted. The one thing we all agree on is that the most regressive thing you could do is to allow the proposed cuts in this budget to go into effect.
Third, we want you to consider efficiencies that have not been realized as recommended in your own reports. Consider the Sheriff’s staffing study produced by the company chosen by the Sheriff’s office. It doesn’t make sense that you have the same amount of people on rural patrol during low and high peak times. It is not an efficient use of tax dollars. An efficient calendaring system for the courts would minimize wasted deputy time and be more effective. There are areas where you have been told you can save money, but those savings have not been realized. Under no circumstances do we believe you should cut any services to the most vulnerable without implementing every single efficiency that has been identified for you to date.
Finally, we want you to consider some funding increases particularly in areas where we save money in the long term as a result of those activities. Prevention efforts should not be cut. Cutting services to the homeless, youth and the jail diversion programs will likely increase costs in the long run related to juvenile detention, the criminal justice system as well as the jail. We also believe that there are other costs that make sense such as express bus service to areas like Sun Prairie and Stoughton and energy efficiency programs that save money in the long run. In the past, our elected leaders have recognized the wisdom of investing in natural resources for the future, even when times are tough. During this Great Recession we have continued to spend wisely on land protection or acquisition. Even during the Great Depression, the land for the UW-Arboretum was purchased. Likewise, in the past elected leaders have invested in our human resources; despite economic challenges, now is also a time we must invest in a generation of lives, for the most vulnerable in our community.
We understand the budget is tight, and we are willing to share the pain if it is fair and you have fully explored the alternatives instead of cutting the conversation off regarding options. Consider that Human Services has repeatedly put money back in at the end of the year to help cover other budgets. Meanwhile, funding to POS agencies has been flat or declined and union members have taken pay cuts, furloughs and most recently voluntary leaves without pay to save the county money. This year, we need others to step up to the plate to put money towards the Human Services budget.
Many of you pledged to protect services – this is one thing the legislature did not take that away from you. You have options before you to end this long cycle of cuts to Human Services, to fix some problems of the past, to protect those who are most vulnerable, to honor your union contracts and working families and take a balanced approach to the budget that reflects the Dane County Way. We also know that re-election weighs heavy on your mind and we’d like to remind you that even in 2010 when the County Board took a risk and raised the levy 7.9% while facing re-election we saw little negative voter reaction to that tax increase because you stood up for Dane County values. There is trust that County Board members are not wasting our money. That increase in taxes was much larger than what we are calling on you to do now. You had the courage then—we call on you to find that spirit again for those most in need in our community.
Sincerely
Madison Urban Ministry
United for Funding (Coalition of City and County Purchase of Service Agencies and their Allies)
Andy Heidt – President, Dane County Professionals AFSCME 1871
Kevin Gundlach, President, Dane County AFSCME Local 705
Shannon Maier, President, Dane County AFSCME Local 720
Joe Purcell, President AFSCME Local 2634
Capital Region Advocacy Network for Environmental Sustainability (CRANES)
Maybe we can fine the republican legislature and staff for every day in September that they do NOT show up at work. http://bloggingblue.com/2011/09/13/1-day-on-29-off/